How difficult is it to care for an Arowana? They are expensive fish, but I am addicted to their looks and faces, and I'm thinking about purchasing one. Would an 80 gallon be big enough for one Arowana? What do they eat and how big do they get and are there any common diseases that they get?

Thanx peps!!

iamntbatman

06-05-2008 10:05 PM

Even the smaller jardinis still get at least three feet. My LFS has one in an indoor pond with a large pleco and a big albino channel cat. The pond is huge, maybe 500 gallons, and the fish is only 2 feet long, but it looks miserable and has really terrible gill curl from the cramped quarters. You need a huge aquarium to care for one.

bhone20

06-06-2008 02:16 AM

ok, thanx anyway :cry:

dgaud

06-06-2008 10:38 PM

Hello. First post here...so please be gentle....

I just bought a Silver Arowana a couple weeks ago and so far is going great. I did have the petshop guy feed her(him?) pellets before I bought it, to see if it was healthy and eating other foods. I paid $30 for this maybe 6" fish. I love the way it looks and moves in the water. It is truly a very beautiful species. Currently it is alone in my 75G tank with an Irridescent Shark twice its size (over here we call them Mystic Sharks). I think they complement real well since the shark mostly swims in the middle and bottom and the Arowana is exclusively in the top. Looking forward to seeing them develop. I'm thinking now of saving for a 200G tank in the near future if this works out.
So at least I can tell you they can eat pellet food (Hikari Food Sticks - with the Arowana picture in the pacakage), don't know yet about diseases.

theubc

06-07-2008 07:08 AM

im pretty sure it would do good in an 80 gallon but you might want to get it something in the hundreds to make him comfortable...at least when its full size that is

LJean

06-07-2008 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iamntbatman

Even the smaller jardinis still get at least three feet. . You need a huge aquarium to care for one.

3 feet? I guess you would need a huge aquarium.

Lupin

06-07-2008 10:17 AM

300g is often the recommended minimum for one full-grown arowana. 80g is only for temporary housing. Once it manages to reach a foot or 1.5 feet, better upgrade as soon as possible. Better yet, don't get the arowana at all. They can be really quick growers.

Alf

07-27-2008 07:17 PM

does anyone know exactly how quick they grow? i love the way they look too ad ofte thought about putting one in my 100g.

okiemavis

07-29-2008 05:37 PM

In good conditions I've heard of them growing 1-2 inches per month. I'd also recommend planning way ahead of time what to do with the arowana once it outgrows the tank. They can be difficult to rehome properly.

There are some other really cool fish that have the aggressive personality of an arowana. Why not check out some of the dwarf pikes?

derbyno1

07-30-2008 11:47 AM

i had one a while back it went from 6 inches to 15 in about 8 mounths, if you are thinkin of getting one make sure you have alot of money, they will eat you out of house and home.